By Ko Dong-hwanA fire fueled by natural gas has been burning in a Pohang park for more than a year.Inside a Pohang park is an unusual natural scenic attraction that the city protects with glass walls though which visitors can see.Inside is a fire, fueled by underground natural gas and ignited during a construction project on Mar. 8 last year. An excavator and a pile of earth next to the fire have been left as they were the day the natural gas was found. The port city in South Gyeongsang Province had concluded that the gas originated 200 meters below.The fire in Daejam-dong village in the city's Nam-gu district has become one of the city's popular tourist spots.The gas was found while building the city park above an outdated railway line between Hyoja Station and the former Pohang Station. A tube well was being drilled when it hit the natural gas reserve at about 200 meters.Construction workers first thought the gas would dissipate shortly. But it continued for months, and in May 2017 the city decided to showcase the site as a tourism asset. Photos of the construction scenes where the gas was discovered are exhibited at the site.

After the fire burned for 10 months, the city surrounded the natural gas reserve site with glass walls, naming it "The Garden of fire." / Korea Times file

The fire continued even when the city, frequently experiencing quakes, was stricken with a magnitude 5.4-earthquake in last November and a magnitude 4.6 quake in February 2018. Tests show the natural gas is mostly methane. The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and Korea Gas Corporation have been studying the underground rocks' geological traits and size of the natural gas reserve.The research, expected to end in September, will show whether the reserve can provide energy for heating and cooking."For a natural gas reserve to be considered a safe natural energy source, it is usually situated with one kilometer depth," a city official said."But there have been cases in China and India where natural gas reserves at shallower depth were proved feasible. More studies will show whether the one in Pohang has such potential."